Illinois scrambles to boost locally produced farm products after Trump’s
funding freeze
[April 22, 2025]
By Simon Carr and Medill Illinois News Bureau
SPRINGFIELD — When Illinois named small farmer Nathan Ryder a finalist
for a federal $100,000 Local Food Infrastructure Grant, he made big
plans for his farm in the southeastern tip of the state. Then the U.S.
Department of Agriculture cut his funding.
The Ryder family farm, a 10-acre operation in Pope County that produces
chicken eggs, sheep and some fruits and vegetables, would have used the
money to purchase a refrigerated truck. Ryder said he wanted to use the
truck to sell his own products farther away. He was also going to
transport other farmers’ food back to Southern Illinois, expanding that
rural region’s access to healthy, affordable food.
“Why is it that [people’s access to fresh fruits and vegetables] is
somehow considered optional?” Ryder asked in an interview. “We should be
able to feed the people around us.”
Illinois was approved for $43 million in federal reimbursement funds for
two food programs designed to strengthen statewide food systems, but
when the Trump administration took office it informed the stated,
without explanation, that the remaining $17.8 million in federal
agriculture reimbursements still owed to Illinois would cease after Jan.
19, 2025.
Farmers like Ryder have asked the state to consider new models for
subsidizing, planning and regulating agriculture to help them keep
Illinoisans fed. Illinois lawmakers are trying to help by pushing two
bills through the legislature.
The first, HB 3701, would reallocate state funds to purchase farm food
locally.
The second, HB 2196, would help poultry farmers sell more of their
products directly to consumers.
Both the Illinois General Assembly and Gov. JB Pritzker have shown some
reluctance to spend state money on this issue, citing budgetary
concerns. But the two bills that soared through the House Agriculture
Committee recently both demonstrated dedication to supporting local
farmers amid turbulent changes in the federal government.
The first bill, the Good Food Purchasing Law (GFPL), proposed by Rep.
Sonya Harper, D-Chicago, would reestablish the Good Food Purchasing
Policy Task Force with a new mandate to find between one and three
Illinois-run institutions (public colleges, for example) that would
begin purchasing from small local farmers like Ryder. Currently such
institutions are fiscally obligated to purchase food from the lowest
bidder, often larger companies in places outside Illinois that have more
agriculture capacity.
Currently 3 million Illinoisans, roughly 1-in-4, live in food deserts,
defined by the USDA as areas with little access to healthy food.
If the bill passes, Illinois would be the first state in the country to
promote purchasing locally sourced ethical food within its own state
departments. Such programs already exist in 72 institutions across 26
cities, funded through a combination of local and federal dollars,
including in Cook County since 2017.
The Good Food Purchasing Law that made it past the House Agriculture
Committee is a watered-down version of a more-significant bill that
would have required some state agencies to immediately start purchasing
local, ethically sourced food. That version was opposed by a number of
state departments, including the Department of Agriculture and
Department of Corrections.
The House Agriculture Committee voted in favor of the stronger GFPL bill
6-3 on March 18th, along partisan lines, with Republican lawmakers
opposing it. The amended version passed unanimously in committee last
week on April 8.
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Rep. Sonya Harper, D-Chicago, explained the value of her bill to
help small farmers at a press conference earlier this month. “Right
now, public institutions across Illinois are required to choose the
lowest bidder when they buy food. Now that might sound fair, but in
practice, it leaves out small, local and community-based food
businesses.” (photo by Simon Carr, Medill Illinois News Bureau)
However, last week the bill was sent back to the Rules Committee,
because it was growing late in this legislative session to push it
through. In the bill’s place, Harper put forward HJR 0027, a nonbinding
resolution that calls for Illinois departments to implement this measure
as soon as practicable. The resolution calls for recreating the Good
Food Purchasing Policy Task Force and urges, but does not require, state
agencies to investigate their potential for a good food purchasing pilot
program.
The other bill deals with poultry. In addition to expanding local
farmers’ industry by reallocating state funds to purchase local farm
food, legislators hope to loosen rules on self-processed poultry in
order to help local farmers sell more of their products directly to
consumers. The House Agriculture Committee on April 8 also unanimously
passed this second bill, an amendment to the Meat and Poultry Inspection
Act (HB 2196), sponsored by Rep. Charles Meier, R-Okawville.
Should the bill become law, self-processed chicken would be available at
local farmers markets, both decreasing Illinoisans’ reliance on large
chicken growers and opening more of an industry for local farmers.
This bill also raises the annual cap for on-farm poultry processing from
5,000 head to 7,500 head. Most of Illinois’ neighboring states have
higher limits, and 40 states have caps of 20,000.
Illinois currently has only four poultry processing facilities,
according to farmer Ed Dubrick of DuChick Ranch in Cissna Park in
Iroquois County. As locally grown meat grows more popular, Dubrick has
to book very far in advance to get processing time slots, which means
he’s often not selling his product at its best. Further, the hours-long
drives to processing plants can be hard on the animals, says Dubrick.
Larger companies that can afford their own processing facilities don’t
face the same burden.
For niche poultry products like quail, Illinois has no poultry
processors at all, Dubrick said. Some farmers must drive to the East
Coast to process their product, a risky trip for the quails and a
financial burden for small farmers, who often benefit from selling niche
products.
Harper raised a concern during the Agriculture Committee meeting that it
might be best to hold off on loosening poultry regulations until after
the current bird flu outbreak subsides. But witnesses testified that
they believe this bill wouldn’t increase the risk of flu spreading, and
Harper has since been supportive.
The poultry bill passed through the House earlier this month without
opposition.
Both HB 3701 and HJR 0027 are still under review by the Pritzker
administration, which has yet to take a position on either, according to
a statement from the governor’s press secretary, Alex Gough.
HB 3701 still needs to make it through the Senate, where it’s currently
waiting to be assigned to a committee for review.
Simon Carr is a student in journalism with
Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media,
Integrated Marketing Communications, and a fellow in its Medill
Illinois News Bureau working in partnership with Capitol News
Illinois.
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state
government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is
funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R.
McCormick Foundation. |
